TAU Soars into Space

Tel Aviv University soared out of this world with the festive launch of TAU-SAT1—the first nanosatellite to be designed, developed, assembled and tested at an Israeli university. The size of a shoebox, it hitched a ride to space on a NASA rocket and is now conducting experiments while in orbit, including the measurement of cosmic radiation.

The achievement was the fruit of an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Center for Nanosatellites and New Space of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, and the Constantiner School of Education.

The initiative included a strong educational element: In addition to TAU students and faculty, a diverse group of high school pupils were involved in TAU-SAT1’s development, from writing software to testing.

"The students come from all over the country, including the periphery, and hail from different cultural and religious backgrounds," says Sharon Mishaal, a staff member of the Constantiner School of Education and the Nanosatellite Center. "Our goal is to make the field of space accessible to youngsters from across Israel."

TAU researchers are now working on a new satellite that will measure climate change. It will be launched under the auspices of TAU’s newly-created interdisciplinary Center for Climate Change Action.